On the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, Congress plays safe

ET Bureau|

Updated: Dec 07, 2017, 12.59 AM IST

0Comments

If Gandhi conspicuously avoided any comment on the mosque demolition anniversary, so did most other party leaders.

NEW DELHI: Congress on Wednesday adopted tactical caution so as not to “gift BJP a polarisation angle” in the middle of the peaking Gujarat campaign by underplaying the 25th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.

The party leadership refrained from organising any official functions to observe the occasion or making any statement on the issue. Rahul Gandhi’s three tweets of the day focused on Ambedkar’s death anniversary, BJP supporters who criticised him for correcting a figure in his tweet on Tuesday and the high level of malnutrition and low level of medical care for children in Gujarat.

Rahul tweeted “tributes to the Father of the Indian Constitution BR Ambedkar, who was the single biggest voice of the minorities” and quoted the architect of the Constitution: “Men are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering. Otherwise, both will wither and die”.

In reply to BJP supporters who criticised him for deleting a tweet on Tuesday and reissuing it with a corrected figure, Gandhi tweeted: “For all my BJP friends: unlike Narendrabhai, I am human. We do make the odd mistake and that’s what makes life interesting. Thanks for pointing it out and please do keep it coming, it really helps me improve. Loveyouall.”

If Gandhi conspicuously avoided any comment on the mosque demolition anniversary, so did most other party leaders. Those familiar with the tactical restraint said the leadership was determined not to gift the BJP brass anything to “twist a controversy” out of a Congress comment on the anniversary.